Apparatus for exhibiting cards.



(No Model.)

Patented Jan. 30, I900. P. J. BOWLING.

APPARATUS FOR EXHIBITING CARDS.

(Application filed Apr. 25, 1899.7

2 Sheets-Sheet l,

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No. 642,305. Patented Ian. 30, I900. P. J. BOWLING.

APPARATUS FOR EXHIBITING CARDS.

(Application filed Apr. 25, 1899.; (No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet 2.

jlii" In Witnesses: Inventor:

I 617% I? Jfiawiz ng lltri'rnn STATES PATENT @FFlQE.

THIRDS TO CHARLES J. GRIGGS AND THOMAS F.

PLACE.

LAlVLOR, OF SAME l MPPARATUS FOR EXHIBITING CARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,305, dated January 30, 1900. Application filed April 25, 1899. erial N0. 714,364. (No model.)

To rtZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PATRICK J. DOWLING, a citizen of the United States, residing in Waterbury, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Exhibiting Cards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in IO apparatus for exhibiting cards, and it has for its main object the provision of an improved apparatus by means of which cards having pictures or other matter thereon suitable for educational, amusement, or advertising purposes may be exhibited automatically, usually one at a time, at predetermined intervals for any desired length of time, and in which also the order of appearance of the cards can be varied at will and new cards substituted whenever it is desired to do so.

The principalfeatures of my invention will usually be embodied in an automatically-operated mechanism containing a proper store of cards, usually lying close together, adapted to be fed along by the mechanism and presented one by one in position for exhibition for a suitable length of time, after which the exhibited card will beshifted out of the way before another card is presented to view, all of the other cards being usually held back and kept from moving while the exhibited card is being shifted or advanced away from the position in which it was Viewed.

In order that the cards may be handled with facility and precision, I deem it essential that they be carried by suitable card-holders forming part of the mechanism of the apparatus, and these card-holders should be readily removable from the apparatus and not permanently attached thereto, as when permanently connected it is difficult to handle and locate the cards properly. Moreover, in order to support the largest number of cards in the least possible space, and thereby secure compactness of organization, I prefer to mount the card-holders so that they will radiate from a common center and will lie close together, a space being left, however, at some point in the circuit in order to permit the shifting of the cardholders and their cards,

one at a time, into position for exhibition, said card-holders being preferably swung about points near their outer ends into a position where they will face outward and will be substantially perpendicular to the radius passing through the center thereof.

My improved exhibiting apparatus is intended to be entirely automatic in its action and will preferably be controlled by a timetrain or clock-train forming part of the operating mechanism thereof, and the operation of the apparatus may be so regulated as to cause the card-holders and their cards to be brought successively and continuously, one at a time, into position to be viewed for a definite period so long as the motive power of the apparatus is not exhausted.

It should be understood that the term card as used herein includes within its meaning any device suitable for use in a mechanism of this kind, such as a photograph, a chart or map, an advertising card or sheet, or anything of a similar character.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan of the exhibiting apparatus embodying my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same with parts of the casing removed to illustrate the construction clearly. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of a portion of the mechanism, illustrating the driving connections from the motor, the section being taken substantially in line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the apparatus with parts broken away, the view being taken looking from the left in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail illustrating the manner in which the card-holders are operated and controlled. Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the card-holders. Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the same looking from the left in Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a similar end elevation looking from the right in said figure.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the' figures of the drawings.

Any suitable framework may be employed for containing the several operative parts of the mechanism, a casing being shown herein at C for the purpose, said casing preferably having a hinged cover 1 and an opening in front thereof, as indicated indotted lines at 2, opposite which the cards may be brought for the purpose of exhibiting them.

The operating mechanism for effecting the movements of the several parts may be of any suitable type; but I prefer in this case to make use of a motor, which is indicated at M, and will usually be a spring-motor, the main arbor 4 of which will be squared at its upper end for the reception of a key, by means of which said arbor may be turned and a suitable spring S thereby wound up, the movement of this spring being transmitted through a gear 5 to a pinion 6 and a gear 7, loosely mounted for rotation between stops on a supporting-rod 8, the movement of the gear7 being transmitted in turn to another gear 9, loose on the arbor 4, and to a pinion 10, secured to a spindle 10, also having fixed thereon a second gear 10, from which movement is transmitted through a suitable train of gears loosely supported on the rod 12 and the arbor 4 to a regulator R, also loosely mounted on said arbor, all of these parts being substantially similar to those forming the motive devices of clock mechanism. At their upper ends the rods 8, 12, and 13 may be riveted to a top plate 14, and at some distance below said top plate may support a series of guiderolls 0", on which may be mounted for rotation the inner one of a pair of concentric parallel carriers adapted to support and operate the card-holders. This inner carrier is designated in a general way by a, while the outer is indicated by c. In a substantially similar manner to that just described with reference to the small inner carrier 0' the outer one 0 of larger diameter is supported for rotation by a series of guide-rolls r, properly mounted on the framework.

It will be noticed by referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2, and 4 that not only do the guiderolls rsupport the carrier 0, but they also position the same in a horizontal direction, as they form stops which engage the outer side of the carrier at different points, and thereby prevent sidewise movement thereof. Each of the carriers 0 and c embodies two principal elements-viz, a supporting-track for the card-holders and agear for driving such carrier. In the construction shown these parts are reversed in positions on the two carriers, the track of the inner carrier being at the outer side thereof and the gear at its inner side, while in the outer carrier the track isat the inner side and the gear at the outer side. These track portions are indicated, respectively, by 15 and 15 and the gears, which in this case are crown-gears, are designated, respectively, by 16 and 16.

For the purpose of imparting movement to the two carriers I make use of connections from the motor M, hereinbefore described. In this case the shaft 10 also has thereon a crown-gear 10", which may mesh with a pinion 17, carried at the inner end of a spindle 17, supported for rotation at its outer end in a bearing in the casing and at its inner end in a bearing in a hanger 14, depending from the top plate 14. This shaft 17 may also have ,thereon a larger pinion 17, which may mesh with the teeth of the crown-gear 16, the pinion 17 being intended to mesh with the teeth of the crown-gear 16. These two pinions 17 and 17" are so proportioned as to drive the carriers 0 and c in unison and at such a rate that the shaft 10 and the crown-gear 10" will make one complete rotation while the car riers are making one-sixth of a turn. The mechanism just described constitutes a suit able means for turning the two carriers in unison and at auniform rate of speed; but it is not sufficient for the purpose of causing said carriers to be rotated intermittently. Hence in connection therewith I deem it desirable to make use of some controlling mechanism which will permit said carriers to rotate a portion of a complete turn-in this case one-sixth of a complete rotation-and then stop fora suitable period of time during which a card will be exhibited at the opening 2. For the purpose of so controlling the driving mechanism I prefer to make use of a timetrain or clock-train, such as that indicated at T, which will preferably be of the balancewheel type in order to avoid the use of a pendulum, and this time-train being of wellknown construction need not be described in detail, any suitable form of clock-train being employed for this purpose. In this case a winding-arbor 20 drives in the usual manner the main arbor or spindle 21, which,

if desired, may carry at the forward end thereof a hand or pointer (not shown) for indicating the time. This arbor 21 also supports a tubular spindle 22, which, it should be understood, will be driven at the proper rate for carrying an hour-hand, if desired. From this tubular spindle 22 movement may be transmitted, by means of a large gear 22, to a small pinion 23 and to a gear 23, suitably supported, the movement of the gear 23 being in turn transmitted to a small gear 24, carried by a spindle 24E, journaled in suitable bearings and supporting a disk 25, having a plurality of equidistantly-spaced stop-pins 25 projecting therefrom. These pins may be spaced at intervals corresponding to minuteintervals and are intended to control the operation of an escapement device (designated in a general way by e) for controlling the rotation of the carriers 0 and c. In the construction shown this escapement is in the form of a two-armed lever, the long arm 26 of which coacts directly with a series of six equidistant pins 27, projecting from the under side of the large carrier 0, while the short arm 27 of the escapement cooperates with the pins 25. Every time the escapement is shifted to the left, as seen in'Fig. 2, by the pin 25 the arm 26 of the escapement will release the carrier 0, and the motor M will be permitted to impart to the carrier 0 and also, of course, to the carrier 0 one-sixth of a rotation, the escapeinent being retracted, usually by a suitable spring, such as 29, into position to engage another pin 27 as soon as such one-sixth of a turn is completed. This is, briefly, the mannor in which the carriers are partially rotated intermittently to feed forward away from the opening 2 in front of the casing a card which has been exhibited, it being understood that the card-holders are supported by the two carriers and will move in unison therewith exceptwhen they are held back by some other means.

The manner in which all of the unexhibited cards are held back on the carriers while the exhibited card is being advanced out of the way, so as to leave room for the next succeeding card to be swung into position for exhibition, will now be described.

Referring to the card-holders, these may be of any construction suitable for carrying cards so long as they can be readily shifted away from the bunch and into position for exhibiting the cards carried thereby. I prefer, however, to make use of card-holderssubstantially similar to that shown at h, in which the body 30 of the holder tapers toward the center of the carriers in order that said holder may lie with its side edges in contact. Here the inner ends of the body portions 30 are bent up, as indicated at 30, to form an L.-shaped portion,the upper member of which is adapted to rest on a flanged wall 31' of the carrier while the side wall of such lw-shaped portion bears against the outside of such flange. At the other end thereof each card-holder may haveadepending member or pin, such as which may bear in a substantially similar manner against the inner wall of the flanged portion 31 of the carrier 0. (See Fig. 5.) Said body portion may also have another pin 30", rising from the upper side near its outer end for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Each card-holder may also have depending therefrom a card-holding clip or clasp, such as 32, from which the card to be exhibited will depend.

In the organization shown in the present case it is intended to leave spaces between the several assembled and juxtaposed cardholders h in order to permit a controlling device of some suitable type to be moved back and forth between adjacent card -holders. These spaces may be formed to the best advantage by notching or recessing one edge of each holder, as indicated at 33, two such recesses being formed in this casein each holder near opposite ends thereof for the purpose of obtaining a firm hold upon the adjacent card-holder at different points in its length.

Each card-holder has, as before stated, a pin 30 rising therefrom, by means of which the holder may be operated to shift it from its normal position on the carriers to a point behind the opening For the purpose of effecting such movement I may make use of any suitable card holder -shifting device which will be automatic in its operation and preferably will be controlled by the drivingspindle 10, said spindle having near the upper end thereof in this case a cam-wheel w, on which two circular cams are formed concentric with each other, the fall of one cam being indicated by 35 and the fall or depression of the other by 35. The rises of these two cams are disposed in such positions that the parts controlled thereby will be actuated differentially. In this case these cams are intended to control also the movements of an escapement device, (designated in a general way by e,) by means of which all of the cardholders except the one last exhibited may be held back and kept from advancing when such last-exhibited card-holder is carried away from the opening 2. In this construction said escapement device embodies a pair of levers 36 and 37, oscillatory about a common axis and normally spring-pressed, so as to hold their short ends in engagement with the cams 35 and 35. At the working ends thereof said levers may have depending fingers, such as 36 and 37, (see Fig. 2,) which will dip into the openings or recesses 33 and engage the edges of adjacent card-holders.

It will be noticed that the interval between the fingers 36 and 37 is the same or a trifle less than the width of the card-holders at such point, said holders being of course of uniform size. This interval between said fingers is fixed in order to assure the stopping or holding back of the group of cardholders each time one is fed forward, the lever 36 serving to hold back the card-holders behind it when the lever 37 is raised to allow the swinging of the first card-holder into working position, while when the lever 36 is raised when the lever 37 is down the cards which were backed up against the arm 36 will be fed forward by the carriers until the first one of them strikes the lever 37, when the bunch will be stopped again. As soon as the lever 37 is raised, while the lever 36 is down, the cardholder-shifting device may be operated to turn the first card-holder of the set, as seen in Fig. 5, into working position, (shown in dotted lines,) and while this device, as before stated, may be of any suitable construction and may be operated in any proper manner it will preferably be actuated from the shaft 10 by means of a cam or wiper l0 thereon controlling the operation. of a crank-rod 41, connected to a lever 42,.suitably pivoted 011 the framework. This lever will usually be a curved arm, and when inits normal position will preferably be concentric with the carriers 0 and c, and may have on its under side a guideway or slot 42, also concentric with such carriers and in position to receive the pin 30 of the first card-holder when the latter is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5 and the lever is in its normal position. (Shown in full lines in Fig. 5.)

If now some suitable resistance device, such as the round stop it, be located close to the outer edge of the first card-holder and adjacent to the pin 30", then as soon as the lever 42 is shifted by the crank-arm 41, operated by the wiper 40,to the position shown in dotted lines said pin 30 will strike against and be supported by the curved face of the stop 44 and the card-holder will be oscillated about such pin as a center until it reaches the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, where it will be held for a determined period of time in position to exhibit the card carried thereby. The moment the card-holder begins to turn the whole card-holder is pulled outward slightly, and the small inner end thereof rides off from the flange 31 of the carrier 0 and preferably onto a guide-segment, such as 50, secured to the framework, and in this case forming a continuation of the top plate 14, preferably substantially concentric with the pivot of the oscillating card-holder. Hence this guide-segment serves as a means for supporting the inner end of the card-holder, and thus assures a free movement of said cardholder and the proper positioning thereof at the opening 2. At the end of the predetermined period during which the positioned card is exhibited the card-holder (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5) will be returned to its normal position as soon as the cam-wheel it) begins to rotate again, as the wiper will then release the crank-rod 41, and the lever 42 will then be returned to its other position,

' as by means of a spring, such as 47, whereupon the pin 30 of the exhibited card-holder will strike the inner side of the flange 31 of the carrier 0, which flange will then serve as a stop for said pivot-pin, and the lever 42, acting on the pin 30", will immediately oscillate said card-holder back to its normal radial position. At this time both carriers are moving and the escapement-arm 37 is up, and hence the card-holder will be advanced immediately by said carriers until the latter come to a stop, it being obvious, of course, that as a space is left between the inner end of the guide-segment and the flange 31 the supporting portion 30 of the card-holder will pass through such space and the resoon, however, as one of the pins 25 comes into engagement with the arm 27 and shifts the latter to the left, and hence releases the arm 26 from engagement with a stop-pin on the carrier 0, the latter will begin to rotate and will be carried through one-sixth ment that-the carriers start turning'the cam wheel to will also begin to rotate, and the wiper 40, the highest point of which is then in engagement with the pin on the crank-rod 41 to hold the lever 42 in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, will release sai crank-rod, and as the lever 42 returns to the position shown in full lines in said figure it will shift such positioned card-holder back to its normal radial position between the two arms 36 and 37 of the escapement device e. As the carriers 0 and c are rotating at this time, said card-holder will be advanced until it is clear of the arm 37, which latteris up, and the arm 36 will riseand the whole series of card-holders will be advanced by the carriers until the first one of the group strikes the stop 37, when all of them will be stopped again, it being understood that this stop 37 will descend before such card-holder reaches it. The previously-positioned card will, however, continue to be advanced by the carriers until it is clear of the opening 2 and until such carriers stop moving. Before the movement is completed the cam-wheel 10, which makes one complete turn each time said carrier has completed one-sixth of a rotation, will cause the lever 36 to descend again into position to form a stop for all of such series except the first, and the lever 37 will rise in order to permit the swinging of the first card of the series into position for exhibiting its card. This swinging movement will take place during the last part of the partial rotation of the carriers and during the last part of the complete rotation of the cam-wheel w and will be effected by the riding of the pin on the crank-rod 41 up to the highest point of the cam 40, where said pin will remain when the mechanism stops.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a movable carrier, of separate card-holders supported by said carrier, and automatically-operative mechanism for actuating said carrier in one direction and for imparting independent shifting movements to said card-holders in another direction at predetermined intervals.

2. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a rotary carrier, of separate cardholders supported by said carrier, and automatically-operative mechanism for rotating said carrier in one direction and for imparting independent shifting movements to said card-holders in another direction at predetermined intervals.

3. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a rotary carrier, of radially-disposed card-holders supported by said carrier, and automatically-operative mechanism for rotating said carrier in one direction and for imparting independent shifting movements to said card-holders in another direction at predetermined intervals.

4. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a rotary carrier, of radially-disposed card-holders supported by and movable with said carrier and oscillatory about points near their outer ends, and automatically-operative mechanism for rotating said carrier and for oscillating said card-holders at predetermined intervals.

5. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a rotary carrier, of separate cardholders supported by said carrier and oscillatory about axes substantially parallel with the axis of said carrier; automatically-operative mechanism for actuating said carrier; and an automatic cardholder-shifting device for intermittently shifting successive cardholders out of and back to their normal positions.

6. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, With a rotary carrier, of separate removable card-holders resting on said carrier; antomatically-operative mechanism for rotating said carrier to feed card-holders successively; and means for preventing movement of the remaining card-holders.

7. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a movable carrier, and with means for automatically actuating the same, of a plurality of separate removable cardholders resting on said carrier and movable therewith, and an intermittently-operative automatic card holdershifting device for shifting card-holders selectively away from such group and into position for exhibiting cards.

8. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier movable in one direction, of a plurality of radially-disposed cardholders supported by said carrier and shiftable in another direction, an intermittentlyoperative automatic cardholder-shifting device for shifting card-holders successively away from one end of such group and into position for exhibiting cards, and automatically-operative means for returning said card holders to the other end of such group.

9. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier, and with a motor for intermittently operating the same in one direction, of separate card-holders supported by said carrier and shiftable in another direction, and an automatic cardholder-shifting device for shifting said card-holders successively away from the group and into position for exhibiting cards.

10. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with an intermittently-rotative carrier movable in one direction, and With a timetrain controlling the rotation thereof, of cardholders supported by said carrier and shiftable in another direction, and an automatic cardholder-shifting device for shifting cardholders successively away from their normal positions in the group and into position for exhibiting cards.

11. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with an intermittently-rotative carrier movable in one direction, and With a time-train controlling the rotation thereof, of card-holders supported by said carrier and shiftable in another direction, and a cardholder-shifting device also controlled by said time-train and operative for shifting cardholders successively away from their normal positions in the group and into position for exhibiting cards.

12. In anexhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier movable in one direction, and With separate card-holders supported thereby and shiftable in another direction, of a motor; a card-holder-shifting device controlled by said motor and operative for shifting cards selectively into position for exhibiting cards; a time-train; and an escapement controlled by said time-train and controlling the operation of said motor.

13. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier, of a plurality of radially-disposed removable card-holders resting thereon and shiftable on said carrier in a horizontal plane into position for exhibiting cards.

14. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier, of a plurality of radially-disposed card-holders carried thereby and oscillatory on said carrier in a horizontal plane into position for exhibiting cards.

15. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, With, a carrier, of a plurality of radially-disposed card-holders carried thereby and oscillatory upon their free outer ends as pivots into position for exhibiting cards.

16. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier, of a plurality of radially-disposed card -holders carried thereby and oscillatory upon their free outer ends as pivots into position for exhibiting cards, and a support in position to guide the inner ends of the card-holders during such oscillation.

17. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier, of a plurality of radially-disposed card -holders carried thereby and oscillatory upon their free outer ends as pivots into position for exhibiting cards, and a guide-segment in position to support the inner ends of the card-holders during such oscillation.

18. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a pair of parallel movable car riers, of shiftable card-holders supported at their opposite ends by said carriers.

19. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a pair of concentric movable carriers, of radially-disposed shittable card-holders supported at their opposite ends by said carriers.

20. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a pair of parallel movable carriers, and with means for actuating the same in unison, of shiftable card-holders supported at their opposite ends by said carriers.

21. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a pair of concentric movable carriers, and with means for rotating the same in unison, of radially-disposed shiftable cardholders supported at their opposite ends by said carriers.

22. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a pair of concentric movable carriers, and with means for rotating the same in unison, of radially-disposed shiftable cardholders supported at their opposite ends by said carriers, and an automatic cardholdershifting device for shifting said card-holders successively away from their normal positions in the group and into position for exhibiting cards.

23. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a pair of concentric carriers, of radially-disposedbard-holders tapering to- Ward the center of the carriers and supported at their opposite ends by said carriers.

24. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a rotary carrier, and with means for rotating the same, of a plurality of cardholders supported by said carrier, and an automatically-operative escapement for re leasing the card-holders successively and for holding back the remaining card-holders.

25. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a rotary carrier, and with means automatically-operative escapementembody ing two separately-movable members one for releasing the card-holders successively and the other for holding back the remaining cardholders.

27. In an exhibiting apparatus, the combination, with a carrier, and with means for actuating the same, of a plurality of card-holders supported by said carrier and having spaces between their adjacent edges, and an antomatically-operative escapementembodying two separately-operative members lnovable into and out of such spaces, and one 0perative for releasing the card-holders successively, and the other for holding back the remaining card-holders while the released cardholder is being advanced by the carrier.

PATRICK J. DOWLING. Witnesses:

EDWARD L. SEERY, THOMAS F. LAwLoR. 

